There are so any things I have read when I researched my dogs allergies.Now I did not research day and night but I still don't understand why so many dogs would be allergic to chicken?
We did a "diary" on my dogs' food intake and what I used as far as cleaning product and so on.I concluded nothing from that and we did sooo many allergie tests, with no conclusions either and oh one allergic test showed that he was allergic to tomatoes!? He has never eat a tomatoe or had anything that contained tomatoes! So to me I will always believe that you can do all the tests in the world I am convinced that it is more their immune systems than any allergies.I think low immune deficiency contribute to allergic reactions.But I think their immune system is the core of the problem.Have you guys ever done research where you read that wolves, dingos, S.african wild dogs show allergies comparable to what we see in our domestic dogs?
Just curious.

 Quote: angelique cadogan

There are so any things I have read when I researched my dogs allergies.Now I did not research day and night but I still don't understand why so many dogs would be allergic to chicken?
We did a "diary" on my dogs' food intake and what I used as far as cleaning product and so on.I concluded nothing from that and we did sooo many allergie tests, with no conclusions either and oh one allergic test showed that he was allergic to tomatoes!? He has never eat a tomatoe or had anything that contained tomatoes! So to me I will always believe that you can do all the tests in the world I am convinced that it is more their immune systems than any allergies.I think low immune deficiency contribute to allergic reactions.But I think their immune system is the core of the problem.Have you guys ever done research where you read that wolves, dingos, S.african wild dogs show allergies comparable to what we see in our domestic dogs?
Just curious.

Allergies ARE an immune response.

I'll bet the tests your dog had were blood tests. Correct?

Even the gold standard, skin tests, are only about 75% accurate. Blood tests, however, are pretty shaky. I have gotten some helpful results from them, but nothing close to the results from scratch tests, after which I had the lab make up the individual dog's desensitizing injections (which I did on a gradually-decreasing schedule).

A dog who tested positive for 33 severe allergies was brought under control with the hydroxyzine, the de-sensitizing injections (forever, but only one a month by the end of 7 months), fish oil forever, and of course an excellent raw diet. I also cleaned pollen and grasses off her undercarriage and paws on the way inside every time so she didn't track in allergens (in her case, rye, acacia, fescue, and a few others). I was able to stop steroids with her, except for maybe one or two days a year, at the peak of grass pollenating season.

Of course the immune system is the core. You are 100% correct. Allergies are an immune response.

Chicken is common because allergies develop after repeated exposure. Many dogs have eaten chicken-based kibble every day for their whole lives.

I believe that the constant sameness of a kibble diet is one reason dogs we feed are prone to food allergies and wild canids do not seem to be. I also believe that over-vaccinating is damaging to the immune system, contributing to increased inhalant/environmental allergies.

So we have a dog whose immune system has been compromised by over-vaccinating and then we feed that dog the same food day after day forever.

And then we're surprised by the allergies that develop. :>(

All JMO. However, I have spent hundreds of hours researching this subject, and I'm pretty convinced of these conclusions.

It makes me angry: angry at the commercial food companies who have convinced vets and the public that they have some esoteric knowledge about feeding dogs, and that no mere owner could ever hope to penetrate the mystery, and even angrier about the pharmaceutical houses that keep pushing annual boosters and more vaccinations than needed.

I just called my vet to see if the thyroid tests were in. They came back low-normal. The vet said he wants to figure a dose out and start him on it for six weeks to see if the skin clears up. I pick up the meds tommorow. Maybe this is the answer, maybe not. One thing we did discuss is anxiety. When I leave for work and come back he'll be covered. He said it could be seperation anxiety. My question is do those dogs that are in schutzhund ever experience flakes because of anxiety or stress?